Published Oct 30, 2026 | 5:46 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2026 | 5:46 PM
Attappadi infant deaths
With ten infant deaths reported in Attappadi, a tribal block in the Mannarkkad taluk of Palakkad, over the past four months, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan will visit the region on Saturday, 31 October to assess the situation and review healthcare facilities.
Meanwhile, expert teams from the Health Department and the Department of Medical Education have begun a three-day assessment, even as CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam accused the government of failing to address the recurring deaths.
The Minister will visit Kottathara Tribal Specialty Hospital at 9.30 am and hold discussions with Health Department officials.
At 11 am, he will visit Agali Community Health Centre and meet healthcare workers to review the region’s health concerns, treatment facilities and preventive measures.
He said the department was working to identify the underlying problems and find solutions.
On the Minister’s instructions, teams appointed by the Directorate of Health Services and the Department of Medical Education reached Attappadi on Thursday, 29 October.
They will remain there for three days to examine the healthcare situation.
The Health Services team comprises Dr Harikumar, State Nodal Officer for Tribal Health; Dr Joy John, National Health Mission’s Nodal Officer for Maternal and Child Health; and Dr Lipsy Paul, Assistant Director of the Health Department.
The seven-member team from the Medical Education Department is led by Dr Riyas I., Superintendent of SAT Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.
Its members are Dr Shankar V.H., Professor of Genetics at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College; Dr Lakshmi S., Professor of Paediatric Cardiology; Dr Prashanth K.S., Associate Professor of Paediatric Gastroenterology; Dr Febi Francis, Associate Professor of Neonatology at Thrissur Medical College; Dr Netto George, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at Kollam Medical College; and Dr Rashmi C.R., Associate Professor of Gynaecology at Thrissur Medical College.
The teams will visit tribal settlements, hospitals, community health centres, family health centres and health sub-centres.
They will directly examine all pregnant women and children below five in the region and ensure that they receive necessary tests and treatment.
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A detailed audit will also be conducted into neonatal, infant and child deaths reported in Attappadi.
The teams will assess the functioning of healthcare personnel, including mobile medical units, and review the operations of the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre.
The government has directed the teams to submit a report, incorporating the recommendations of an expert committee, within a week.
Further action will be taken based on its findings.
The stated objective is to identify the causes of infant deaths and put in place both immediate and long-term measures to improve maternal and child healthcare and prevent further deaths.
Meanwhile, Binoy Viswam said the recurring infant deaths could not be allowed to turn Attappadi into a “graveyard for infants”.
He said it was deeply disturbing that ten deaths had been reported in four months without the government identifying the root causes or finding a lasting solution.
Healthcare for the Adivasi community was not an act of charity but a constitutional responsibility, he said.
The government had failed to ensure adequate medical care, proper nutrition, prenatal care, timely hospital services and emergency ambulance facilities for the community, he alleged.
Viswam said appointing expert committees and issuing statements after deaths was futile.
Each death should be investigated separately, and lapses on the part of the Health Department and the Scheduled Tribes Development Department should be examined, he demanded.
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(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
